Hp needed for boat

[johngmaurer]

Hi, new to the boating community. I am an owner of a 29 Cal Jensen. The current Atomic 4 engine on it is broken and is like to remove that and put in an outboard motor. How much hp would I need if I only plan on using it to move in and out of docks with the motor? The displace is about 8000lbs. Thank you for any help and any advice in general.

 

[justsomeguy]

With a displacement of 8000 lbs., 9.9 hp 4 stroke should be enough.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

Don’t do it. Keep the A4. See Moyer Marine if it needs a rebuild.

Les

 

[MitchM]

moyer will do a fine job on a rebuild, save yr $ for them not a new out board.

 

[jssailem]

Hi @johngmaurer Welcome to the forum..
The Cal29 is a great boat... The outboard would get you to or from a dock. If you take her out on the Gulf waters and let her fly, as she can do, you would find the outboard a weak excuse for a reliable auxiliary power source.
Look into restoring the A4. You will be doing yourself and the boat solid.

 

[nightowle]

if you do repower with a 9.8 or 9.9 OB, it would be wise to consider an electric tilt model with cockpit controls that can be attached near where you sit for easy throttle and fwd/reverse changes. Also, make sure it is a long shaft.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

The problem with outboards besides ruining the resale value of the boat is they fail at the worst possible time. They fail when you are motoring in short steep waves (think tide rips) and they get submerged by a wave and die. I’ve had a Honda 9.9 die 3 times while going thru San Juan channel I was able to restart it each time but promised myself to never have a sailboat with anoutboard again.

Les

 

[kloudie1]

In and out of the channel at Kemah/Clear Lake.. I would not recommend trying to use an outboard.. That old Atomic 4 is a fine and rugged engine.. easy to work on .. It would be good to get a mechanic involved who is familiar with that engine..

 

[DayDreamer41]

My thoughts are aligned with those who recommend a rebuild over an outboard, heck you have the engine all it needs is some TLC

 

[Benny17441]

Ditto, rebuilding the Atomic 4 would be the way to go. As far as an outboard I would recommend a 15HP engine for that size boat.

 

[johngmaurer]

Thanks for all the advice, come to find out the previous owner replaced the Atomic 4 with a diesel Volvo Penta. I’m going to just fix it up instead of buying a new engine.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Even better! You'll appreciate the deep prop vs an outboard coming in and out of the water when you are pitching.

 

[capta]

Absolutely support your rebuilding the diesel over an outboard. You will learn a lot, which will be helpful if you move up to bigger boats, down the road.

 

[MitchM]

there's an old 70's well used cal on our dock, with an atomic that has been a very reliable engine for 4 decades now....